As the 2023 domestic cricket season in India prepares to commence on Friday, October 11, with the opening round of the Ranji Trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced several major amendments to the playing conditions.
One of the key changes stipulates that if a batter retires for any reason other than an injury, they will be deemed dismissed immediately. Consequently, they will not be able to return to bat during that innings, regardless of the opposing captain's consent.
In a communiqué addressed to state teams on Thursday evening, the BCCI stated, "A] 25.4.3 Batter retiring for any reason other than injury, illness or unavoidable cause: He will be considered as dismissed immediately on retirement and will NOT have the option of returning to bat even with the consent of the opposing captain." It's important to note that this rule applies to all BCCI domestic matches, including both multi-day and limited-overs formats, as well as Super Over scenarios.
On the bowling side, there is a new regulation regarding the use of saliva on the ball, which mandates an immediate ball change and the imposition of penalties if a team applies saliva.
The BCCI has also revised the rules regarding the aborting of a run. Under the new clause, if batters decide to abort a run after crossing and a boundary is scored due to an overthrow before they have re-crossed, only a boundary of four runs will be awarded.
Additionally, changes have been made concerning the CK Nayudu competition and its points allocation. Two scenarios illustrate the new rules:
- Scenario 1: If Team 'A' bats first and is all out for 398 runs in 98 overs, they will receive 4 batting points. If they are later awarded 5 penalty runs while fielding, their score increases to 403 runs in 98 overs, granting them a total of 5 batting points.
- Scenario 2: If Team 'A' bats first and is all out for 398 runs in 100.1 overs, they will still receive 4 batting points. However, even with the 5 penalty runs, bringing their score to 403 runs in 100.1 overs, they will not be awarded the additional batting point.